Under the Radar
by empty ink
Summary: Naruto always reacted to the difficulties in life by blindly facing them head on. As a child, he decides to be stealthy, to avoid all of the hateful eyes and prejudice. Who taught Naruto some of that stealth, and to what purpose? Naruto, less archtypical.


**A/N: **Here's the beginning of a story. Odds are it will updated infrequently and sporadically, so don't get too attached. I know this isn't a particularly long chapter, odds are none of my chapters will be. They'll all (likely) be the work of one solid night's writing, with a predetermined plot. Now, on with the text!

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><p>Living was hard. It was especially so if your name was Uzumaki Naruto. It wasn't difficult because he lived in an orphanage or because he was five. It was difficult because Naruto needed attention. Like all people, he had an inherent need for the notice and acknowledgement of others. Whether or not that acknowledgement was positive or negative was another thing entirely. Surely being noticed was better than the alternative, living as an invisible child? Living just to get by, harassment and belittlement frothing out of any mouth directed at him, Naruto couldn't say if it was really worth it. Being noticed was not worth all this septic treatment from perfect strangers.<p>

Hugging himself on his lumpy spring mattress, Naruto clutched his blanket tighter about his body. The maudlin gears in his head were creaking and although tears eased out from the corners of his eyes, he did not cry out. He did not sob, sniffle or whine. Little Naruto decided that people were trouble to be avoided. The only one he could depend on, the only person who would treat him well was grandpa Hokage. Well fine, he thought, if no one else would be nice to him when he said hello, smiled at them or asked for help then he would take of himself. Sometimes no one even looked at Naruto, sometimes no one even noticed him. If he was quiet and sneaky, he would never get thrown out of a store, spat at or insulted again without doing anything wrong. Every now and then, he could get by the civilians unnoticed and unharassed. If he could just harness that ability and continue unnoticed, he could live easier. Fine, the destined boy thought, as snot dribbled down his face. He would do it on his own, and nobody would ever be mean to him again because no one would notice him again, not if he could help it.

_br_

Blood flowed down his arm as he lay sprawled on the ground. The rest of his wounds had stopped bleeding by now, but this one was fresh. A blank faced man stood in front of him, a kunai in each hand. "Stand up," he said.

But Naruto was sore, and tired.. and a little low on blood. Nonetheless the twelve year-old shakily gained an upright stance, a kunai in each hand. Eyeing the man who had average height, average looks and a blank face standing in front of him, he focused his attention.

"You've been here for almost five years, operative Kyo. Surely this is not all you can do." The monotone words did not irritate the blond boy, he had so much more self control than that. There was a vast space between him and the man's words. Stilling himself and regulating his breathing, he eased his muscles. Surely the weathered shinobi in front of him only meant him to try attacking again, not to irritate him. Of course if that little barb had annoyed him at all, these past few years were a failure. Naruto smiled.

Bursting towards the man, the little ninja stomped on the ground, swinging behind the stationary adult. Throwing one kunai at the trainer's lungs, he immediately bent forward, speeding forward low to the ground. Naruto heard a metallic clang, his kunai was blocked. In a flicker of motion, the trainer was facing him, arms in a loose guard. Sliding towards his target, he neared him and planted his hand on the ground with some chakra. Using the supplemented grip on the ground, he shifted his slide into a sweeping kick. Dodged. Pushing himself up with his grounded hand and a grunt, Naruto leapt into a combination of punches and slashes aimed to maim. Each attack was skillfully blocked, with minor cuts appearing over his exposed face and arms.

It felt like his arms were blown backward by a small explosion, as heavy hands pounded into his chest, forcing him back to the ground. Coughing in order to catch his breath, Naruto rose again, hunched over.

"Much better, operative Kyo. You're dismissed for now. You will be expected back a week after your genin graduation." Without a twitch of emotion the grey haired basic trainer left. A minute later Naruto followed. Time for a warm shower and a good night's sleep. The genin exam would not require him to be at his best, especially since he only needed to keep his average ranking in the class. Well, off to the apartment then.

_br_

"Uzumaki Naruto," drawled instructor Mizuki through the now open doorway. Entering the practical examination room, wearing navy pants, a dark grey shirt and a grey bandanna over bright hair, was Naruto. Grinning at the instructors with indifferent eyes, he gave a lazy salute. "Sir."

While shaking his head, Iruka grumbled with a little smile, "Just perform the bunshin no jutsu, Naruto. Two clones."

A few hand signs later and two clones crumbled into being. Like hell Naruto could perform the normal bunshin no jutsu, not without overloading it. His Root trainers had decided that since he was going to go through the academy like a normal shinobi, he shouldn't know chakra control techniques outside of his rank. Of course this sentiment may have been influenced by the amount of chakra control training he would need to harness only a trickle of chakra from the veritable sea he had. An orphaned academy student knowing tree climbing, water walking and river walking would be far more suspicious than one who knew a different clone jutsu.

"You pass, Naruto." Iruka smiled and continued in a curious tone, "Where did you learn that jutsu..?" A skeptical look crept onto his face, body language clearly displaying his small confusion.

Mizuki, in contrast, had a peculiar grin, imperceptibly forced, "Good job, Naruto. You can pick up a head band now." His slightly squinty eyes gave off the odd impression of a smiling weasel in a silver wig.

How bizarre. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, Naruto shuffled forward to grab the sign of his new military rank and retreated with a small bow. "It's crazy what some people will do get you to stop annoying them. Thanks Sensei. See you tomorrow." The question quickly answered, he swiftly left the examination room, and then the building. Out of sight out of mind.

Attract as little attention as possible to yourself, he had been told. Simply knowing an advanced bunshin would attract attention, do your best not to increase it. Naruto had been working on his stealth for half his young life. The Henge was the first jutsu he learned and mastered after all. Funny how much cheaper everything was when he wasn't himself. Hilarious. Make yourself a generic looking person, speak politely with a calm, slightly friendly tone. Have something about you that isn't normal, it's rare for anyone to be completely generic. It's not that difficult to be just another face in the crowd with some practice and a single jutsu.

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><p><em>br <em>is just my little way of inserting scene breaks.

_Kyo_: apricot, in this case. Naruto's Root code name. It means something, it was just chosen arbitrarily since it was short.

_Henge no jutsu_: You should know what this is. Transformation technique.

_Bunshin no jutsu_: You should also knew this one. Illusionary clone technique.

_Kawarimi no jutsu:_ Just to complete the three basic ones, the replacement technique.


End file.
